Safe Guarding Policy

“Rural Organisation for Social Advancement”- “ROSA”

Safeguarding Policy-2020

 

 

Introduction

 

 In ROSA’ case, a safeguarding approach means minimising the risk of harm, exploitation or     abuse of children and adults from staff, operations and programme activities. It includes reporting any safeguarding concerns about a child or adult within communities where we work to the appropriate authorities. This policy focuses on addressing those risks by developing standards and mitigating measures to target and reduce residual risk.

Subsequently the “do no harm” principle is now widely recognised as an important element in the wider strengthening of safeguarding systems at both national and local level when providing health, education and social protection services.

 

“Safeguarding is the responsibility that an organisation has to ensure that their employees and volunteers, partners, vendors, operations and programmes do no harm to children, young people or vulnerable adults1 (together referred to as ‘vulnerable people’ under this policy); that they do not expose them to the risk of discrimination, neglect, harm and abuse; and that any concerns the organisation has about the safety of vulnerable people within the communities in which they work, are dealt with and reported to the appropriate authorities. It is also the responsibility that the organisation has for protecting its employees and volunteers when they are vulnerable, for example, when ill or at risk of harm or abuse”.

 

Scope

 

  • All Staff- national and international
  • Partners / Grantees
  • All contractors e.g. consultants, interns, journalists, vendors, photographers, external Media, visitors,
  • Individuals or groups who Freedom Fund (or partner or party to stakeholders) have transferred power or legitimacy to, such as community vigilance committees, community-level advocacy Committees etc

 

This policy aims to protect all the individual directly or indirectly associated with the Freedom Fund Program from :

 

  • Harm and Abuse, (Physical, sexual (including sexual harassment) and emotional (including the abuse of power / trust and coercion). 
  • Exploitation - (mental, physical & sexual by misusing power, position, etc)
  • Neglect
  • Discrimination

 

 

“The purpose of this policy and associated procedures is to provide clarity to all on how they should engage with children, young people and vulnerable adults when working with ROSA. It is also to help us make sure that employees, volunteers and other representatives are protected.

It is intended to help us to have a common understanding of safeguarding issues, develop good practice across the diverse and complex areas in which we operate and thereby increase accountability in this crucial aspect of our work.”

 

Safeguarding Approach 

 

  • Prevention- Creating an organizational culture conducive to safeguarding to prevent any forms of SG incidence to happen.
  • Reporting: Putting safe, appropriate reporting mechanism for anyone in the organization as well as in working community.
  • Response: Responding to reports in a timely and confidential manner and keeping victim centric approach
  • Learn: Feedback from staff / community and maintain a Case management system to see trends

 

Safeguarding Standard

 

ROSA has zero tolerance against abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people. ROSA also recognises that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and that it has an obligation to put in place reasonable measures to ensure, as far as possible, the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable people with whom we work and those in the communities in which we live.

 

Standards

Specific Activities

Awareness and communication:

All ROSA representatives are aware of the policy and the organisation communicates its approach to key stakeholders

  1. All ROSA representatives are responsible for complying with the policy and code of conduct, including following all reporting and response procedures outlined.
  2. ROSA representatives5will be introduced to the policy and sign the code of conduct as part of their induction, contracting or ongoing management process.
  3. All partner organisations must receive a copy of the policy and code of conduct as part of the development of any Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Project Funding Agreement process (PFA).
  4. ROSA will communicate the policy through its website and directly to core stakeholders6, to demonstrate its commitment and the importance of the policy
  5. In particular, ROSA will communicate about and where available share research of safeguarding issues specifically in relation to those with disabilities

Working in partnership to safeguard children and adults:

All ROSA partners will have policies and procedures in place covering safeguarding

  1. ROSA will only enter into an MoU or PFA with organisations that either have these in place, or are committed to developing them, based on ROSA’ policy, as an integral part of the partnership and where specifically mentioned within the PFA. This will be assessed during the due diligence process.
  2. Where a partner’s policies and procedures are less strong than ROSA, and where they do not address issues of those with disabilities specifically, consideration will be paid to advocating for and providing technical support to strengthening of the policy.
  3. Assessment of risks to children and adults are included as a specific part of the project development or inception phase of every project, using the approved toolkit.

Putting the policy into context:

All ROSA countries apply and implement the policy

  1. Each office location has a Safeguarding Focal Person (SFP) in place with clear responsibilities for coordinating the implementation of the policy as well as mapping the local / external context (including legislation) for safeguarding.
  2. Each country has in place asafeguarding reference group which develops and reviews annually the country safeguarding plan based on this policy, outlines the members of the reference group, contact details for the SFP, any specific contextual adaptations to the policy (agreed with the Safeguarding Manager) and any advocacy, training and awareness plans.
  3. The plan will specifically include a communications plan including how it will be rolled out with partners, children, parents, communities.
  4. Each SFP will work with the Safeguarding Manager (SM) and reference group to assess any contextual issues with the policy and develop country specific procedures if relevant. These will include guidance for ROSA representatives about appropriate official reporting procedures in the case of an incident.
  5. Country procedures will be reviewed each time the global policy is reviewed, instigated by the SM, or a specific incident occurs or the national legislative environment changes, instigated by the SFP.

Putting the policy into practice Recruitment, selection and training

  1. ROSA will ensure safeguarding is part of any relevant job description. This will include all positions reporting into the CEO, as well as specific positions where employees will be expected to come into direct contact with children and/or adults at risk.
  2. Recruitment processes for these employees will include relevant questions on experience working with children and/or adults at risk, and additional references or background checks will be undertaken for posts identified as high risk.
  3. ROSA will provide necessary training and support to representatives to ensure effective implementation of the policy.
  4. 4.ROSA will ensure that the SM and the SFP have the capacity and capability to fulfil their roles. We will do this through training, support and the revision of roles and responsibilities.

Putting the policy into practice Programme activities

  1. Specific programme guidance will be developed for each thematic area: inclusive education; social inclusion; eye health and other Department, by the relevant Technical Lead (TL) or Technical Advisor, working with the SM. This should be developed in consultation with children and adults or their representative organisations to ensure it is robust and responsive to actual needs
  2. A safeguarding focused risk assessment will take place during every new project as part of the risk assessment process, during either the Project Design Process (PDP) or the induction phase, with a specific section on children and adults with disabilities in all cases.
  3. A risk assessment will also be conducted for any other activity directly involving adults at risk and/or children, including fundraising and communications activities where contact is made and information on individuals is gathered.
  4. The risk assessment will include mitigating actions, which will be incorporated into project design/documentation. This may include supporting training of partner staff.

Putting the policy into practice Communications activities

  1. ROSA representatives will ensure that appropriate consent is obtained before images or stories of adults and children are captured or shared.
  2. ROSA will ensure that adults and children are represented in an appropriate way that does not victimise or sexualise them.
  3. ROSA will only collect data on individuals for a specific authorised purpose and it will only be used as intended. It will be stored in a way that complies with relevant legislation and our own data protection procedures.
  4. Any breaches to the security of personal data must be reported and acted on immediately.
  5. ROSA staff will not use ROSA equipment to view, share or access illegal or inappropriate material, including any that specifically includes children.

Reporting and responding to child safeguarding incidents

  1. ROSA will ensure that reporting and incident management procedures to handle incidents of abuse are in place, communicated to staff and effectively used to enable an appropriate and swift investigation of any given case.
  2. All ROSA representatives must also follow appropriate and relevant national legislative and criminal reporting procedures as advised by the Safeguarding Focal Person (SFP).

 

  • Safeguarding environment and culture: An organisation's policies, frameworks and procedures that describe how it are committed to preventing and responding appropriately to harm, how it fosters a culture that supports personnel to understand and act in line with these.
  • Safe People: Safer recruitment, HR and induction practices, and what processes organisations have in place to ensure that all staff and associates are clear about how they are expected to behave and what to do if there are concerns about the safety of program participants/beneficiaries.
  • Safe Programming: How projects and programs are designed to minimise the risk of direct and indirect harm to program participants/beneficiaries, in all stages of the program cycle.
  • Safe Response and Reporting: What accountability mechanisms organisations have in place to ensure safeguarding concerns are being raised and dealt with.
  • Safe Communications: Ensuring safe practice in your media and communications work.

 

Role and Responsibilities

 

All employees, volunteers, consultants, agency staff, sub-contractors, partner organizations and visitors are obliged to follow this policy and maintain an environment that prevents exploitation and abuse and which encourages reporting of breaches of this policy using the appropriate procedures.

 

  • The ROSA chief functionary will be responsible for:
  •  Implementing and promoting this Policy;
  • Appointing a Safeguarding Focal Person who will be ensuring that the Policy is monitored and reviewed in accordance with changes in legislation and guidance on the protection of children;
  •  SGFP acting as the main contact with the Freedom Fund for the protection of children and vulnerable adult
  •  Ensuring that appropriate NGO staff and program beneficiaries are provided with information, advice and training on the protection of children and adults in a vulnerable situation;
  •  Establishing and maintaining contacts with the external agencies including  CWC, Social Care Services departments and Police;
  •  Maintaining confidential records of relevant cases and action taken.

 

People working with ROSA will:

 

  • Read, understand and adhere to the ROSA  Safeguarding Policy and ROSA Code of Conduct Policy.
  •  Strive to promote a zero tolerance approach to discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse in all working environments
  •  Strive to develop relationships with all stakeholders which are based on equality, trust, respect and honesty .
  •  Report any concerns they may have about the welfare of a child or vulnerable person.
  •  Report any concerns they may have about the behavior of a ROSA representative in relation to safeguarding.
  •  In a one-to-one situation with a child or young person, where privacy and confidentiality are important, try to make sure that another adult knows the contact is taking place and why. If possible ensure another adult is in sight and that the child or young person knows another adult is around

 

Associated Policies

 

  • Child protection Policy
  • Communication Policy
  • Conflict if interest policy
  • Diversity & inclusion policy
  • Ethical code& conflict of interest policy
  • Fine and penalty of misconduct policy
  • Inclusion policy
  • HR policy
  • Finance policy

 

Actions to be taken in case of an allegation or concern

 

All allegations or concerns about the abuse of a child or vulnerable adult/adult at risk must be taken seriously and reported to The Freedom Fund Safeguarding Officer within 24 hours of the allegation or concern being raised.

 

On hearing of an allegation or concern, the first action is to ensure that the alleged survivor/victim is safe and has access to appropriate care. The safety and care of the alleged survivor/victim is critical within the first 24 hours immediately following an incident.

 

All allegations or concerns should be recorded immediately on the Incident Reporting Form and emailed directly to The Freedom Fund’s Safeguarding Officer and copied to your line manager.

 

As per flowchart and reporting Guidelines explains the process of reporting and follow up. The type of investigation will depend on the nature of the incident. The Safeguarding Officer, with the support of the Safeguarding committee, will decide if the Subject of Complaint, if a staff member, should be suspended based on the suspension guidelines.

 

Policy does not cover

 

 

  • Sexual harassment in the workplace – this is dealt with under [NGO]’s Anti Sexual Harassment Policy
  • Safeguarding concerns in the wider community not perpetrated by [NGO] or associated personnel

 

 

Glossary

 

Program participant / beneficiary

 

Someone who directly receives goods or services from [NGO]’s program.  Note that misuse of power can also apply to the wider community that the NGO serves, and also can include exploitation by giving the perception of being in a position of power.

 

 

Abuse - a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. It can take the form of physical, psychological, financial or sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the health, survival, development or dignity of a child, young person or vulnerable adult.

 

Discriminatory abuse – abuse motivated by a vulnerable person’s age, race, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or other personal characteristic.

 

Neglect - the persistent failure to meet a vulnerable person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of his/her health or development. Examples include failure to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, failure to protect them from physical or psychological harm or danger; failure to ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a vulnerable person’s basic emotional needs.

 

Physical abuse – includes hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm, misuse of medication, restraint, or inappropriate sanctions.

 

Psychological abuse - includes emotional abuse, threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, humiliation, blaming, controlling, intimidation, coercion, harassment, verbal abuse, isolation or withdrawal from services or supportive networks. Examples include not giving a vulnerable person opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on a vulnerable person, which may include interactions that are beyond a vulnerable person’s developmental capability. It may involve serious bullying (including cyber bullying), or the exploitation or corruption of a vulnerable person.

 

Sexual abuse - involves forcing, enticing or coercing someone to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the vulnerable person is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving a vulnerable person in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Sexual abuse can be carried out by adults or other children.

 

Child – ROSA regards a child as anyone under the age of 18 years, irrespective of the age of majority in the country in which the child lives or in their home country. It is widely recognized that children are generally more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation due to factors such as age, gender, social and economic status, developmental stage, and dependence on others.

 

Vulnerable person/people – for the purposes of this policy this is an umbrella term which covers children, young people and vulnerable adults.

 

Designated Safeguarding Officers

 

Designated safeguarding officers are responsible for handling reports or concerns, about the protection of vulnerable people, appropriately and in accordance with the procedures that underpin this policy.

Your People Business Partner will act as your designated safeguarding officer. The lead designated safeguarding officer is responsible for:

 

  • Monitoring and recording safeguarding concerns
  • Ensuring referrals to the relevant authorities happen without delay
  • Updating safeguarding training for all staff
  • Ensuring this policy is reviewed every 3 years or earlier if necessary
  • Ensuring it is implemented throughout the organization and safeguarding training given
  • Ensuring monitoring and recording procedures are implemented

    

Contact detail of SFP

Name:- Pankaj Raman Srivastva

Post:-   MIS Coordinator

ROSA Sansthan Kakarmatta Varanasi

Mob. No. 84355 46 985

Email- pankajsrivastva10@gmail.com

 

    Safeguarding Manager (SM) and safeguarding focal person (SFP)

ROSA will designate a safeguarding Manager (SM) and safeguarding Focal Person (SFP) to cover all operational area of the project.These roles will be added to job descriptions of existing staff, with the workload being adjusted to reflect safeguarding activities. Selection of SFP will undertaken in discussion with most senior member of the organisation.

 

Specific level of responsibility of  SM and SFP:

 

  1. To build the understanding and capability of the organisation required to        implement this policy. This will include direct knowledge and information transfer, and accessing appropriate external expertise.
  2.   To act as the reporting mechanism for any safeguarding concern and use

       lessons learned from specific incidents to improve policy and practice

 

 

 Safeguarding Incident Report Form

 

Event name

 

Incident date

 

Your name

 

Your position

 

Contact information

 

Email

 

Contact number

 

 

Name of child, young person or adult at risk

Nmae 
Gender DOB Ethnicity 
Address Cntact Number   

 

Parent/ carer detail

Name 
Address 
email Contact Number 

 

Have parents/ carers been notified the case

Yes:

If yes please please give detail

 NO 

 

 

 

Are you reporting your own concerns or responding to concerns raised by someone else?

 

Responding to my own concern 

Responding to concerns raised by someone else:

(If responding to concerns raised by someone else: Please provide further information)

 

  

Concerned raised by someone else:

Name 
Relationship with the child /person 
Email address 
Contact Number 

 

Detail of incident

Time 

Details of the incident or concerns: Include other relevant information, such as description of any injuries and whether you are recording this incident as fact, opinion or hearsay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your signature                                                                Date:

 

 

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